Nine bidders in race for Tseung Kwan O site

But just three developers signal interest in a smaller block of land released in Tuen Mun

Two residential sites up for tender have had mixed response, with the bigger plot in Tseung Kwan O attracting strong interest but the other in Tuen Mun gathering just three bids.

The 149,850 square feet site at Area 65CI in Tseung Kwan O drew nine submissions, the Lands Department said.

Surveyors estimate the two sites will fetch between HK$2.2 billion and HK$2.33 billion.

"The response for the Tseung Kwan O site is understandable. The government has in the past received similar number of bids whenever it has offered sites in Tseung Kwan O," Centaline Surveyors' director James Cheung King-tat said.

He blamed the tepid response to the Tuen Mun site on its smaller size and inaccessibility.

"The Tuen Mun site would attract small investors in view of the small lump sum involved. But their appetite may have been dented by the sharp downturn in property sales since the government rolled out a string of cooling measures to curb investment demand," he said.

Surveyors forecast the Tseung Kwan O site, which can yield total gross floor area of up to 569,459 sq ft, would cost about HK$2.16 billion to HK$2.27 billion, or HK$3,800 to HK$4,000 per buildable square foot. But Cheung said the final bids could be conservative given the site was not on the waterfront. The winning bidder had to build at least 655 units on the lot, he said.

The 34,154 square feet site in Tuen Mun drew bids from Sino Land and two unidentified developers. The site is expected to fetch HK$45 million to HK$61 million, or HK$3,300 to HK$4,500 per buildable square foot. "The small site in Tuen Mun is good for building villas," Cheung said.